USA > Oklahoma > Portrait and biographical record of Oklahoma; commemorating the achievements of citizens who have contributed to the progress of Oklahoma and the development of its resources, V. 1 > Part 21
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Mr. Simpson was born in Alexandria, Va., March 23, 1850, and is a son of Henry L. and Julia A. (Cross) Simpson, natives of Virginia. The paternal grandfather was of Scotch descent, and was a soldier in the war of 1812. The greater part of his useful life was spent on a farm. Henry 1. Simpson was a shoe merchant in Alexandria, where he terminated his enter- prising existence. The Crosses, from whom the mother was descended, originally came from England, and were an old and distinguished people. She died in April, 1899. Of her thir- teen children five attained their majority: French and Henry were in a Virginia regiment and died after the war; and George L. is the mayor of Alexandria, Va.
While passing his boyhood in Alexandria, Va., Mr. Simpson was educated in St. John's Academy, from which he graduated in 1867, with the highest honors of his class. This train- ing was supplemented by a post-graduate course in the same institution, after which, in 1869, he engaged in the dry goods business, and later in the commission business. In 1873 he re- moved to Baltimore, Md., where he continued the mercantile business until 1880, when he went to New Mexico, and edited the Santa Fe Daily Democrat. Always progressive, Mr. Simpson began the study of law a few years ago in Mar- tinsburg, W. Va., where he was admitted to the bar and practiced law until 1887. when Presi- dent Cleveland appointed him superintendent of the Arapahoe schools at Darlington. In 1889 he located in Reno City, took a claim and prac- ticed law until 1890, when he removed to El Reno, where he devoted himself exclusively to his profession. At the first session of the terri- torial legislature he was appointed chief clerk of the council or senate, serving during the four
months' session and two extra months, while the records were being completed. In the spring of 1891, at Canadian county's first election, he was elected county attorney, on the Democratic ticket, and filled this office for two years. At the same time he was chairman of the Territorial Democratic Central Committee and had charge of the McCoy campaign. During the early days of El Reno he served as city attorney for two terms, was in charge of the city attorney's office during the incorporation of the village into a town, and later into a city of the first-class, drawing up the ordinance papers for the same.
In 1899 Mr. Simpson purchased the daily and weekly Supper Bell. It is the only daily paper in the county and is devoted to the interests of El Reno and Canadian county. There is a job printing office also in connection with the Bell.
In Washington, D. C., Mr. Simpson was mar- ried to Amy C. Hedges, a native of. Washington, and a daugliter of Rev. John W. Hedges, of the Baltimore Methodist Conference. There are three children living: Mabel, who is married to the Rev. James Noble, of the Methodist Episco- pal church, and living in Brenham, Tex., and Roy, the business manager of the Bell; and William.
Mr. Simpson has contributed much to the so- cial and intellectual life of his adopted town and is a charter member of the El Reno club. In religious convictions he is affiliated with the Christian Science movement.
A BSALOM SCHWARTZ, a representative farmer of Canadian county, whose home is on the southwest quarter of section 2, El Reno township, was born in Morrow county, Ohio, February 24, 1856, a son of Henry and Rebecca (Lentz) Schwartz, both natives of Penn- sylvania, and of Pennsylvania Dutch extraction. His paternal great-grandfather was a native of Germany and came to this country prior to the Revolutionary war. The father of our subject was born in York county, Pa., and at an early day moved to Morrow county, Ohio, where. in the midst of the timber, he cleared and im- proved a farm, making it his home until death. He was twice married, and by the second union had seven children, five of whom are still living, namely: Jonas, a resident of Michigan; Jacob, of El Reno township, Canadian county, Okla .: Absalom, our subject: Elizabeth, wife of LaFay- ette Henry, of Michigan, and Samuel, also of Michigan. Ilis first wife was a Miss Snyder (or Schneider, as the name was formerly spelled). Four children born of this union are also living : John, a resident of Indiana: Henry, of Ohio; William, of Indiana; and Leah, wife of J. Tischer. of California.
Robert It Black.
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In his native state Absalom Schwartz grew to manhood and learned the carpenter's trade, but in 1878 he removed to Holt county, Mo., where engaged in merchandising for five years. On account of ill health he was obliged to give up that business, and, purchasing a farm, remained there one year, and for three years did nothing, owing to the state of his health, after which, for the following five years, he devoted his attention to photography. In 1893 he homesteaded his present place of one hundred and thirty-five acres vi fine farming land on the river bottom, later purchased sixty-one acres, and now is success- fully engaged in raising corn and wheat, though also giving some attention to stock. He has built a good frame house and substantial outbuildings, and has set out a fine orchard and small vineyard. His success in life is due to hard work and strict attention to business, and his career has ever been such as to commend him to the confidence and respect of all with whom he has come in contact. He is a supporter of the Republican party.
During his residence in Missouri Mr. Schwartz married Miss Ellen Meryn, and to them have been born two children, Edith B. and Ralph H. Mrs. Schwartz's father. Henry Meryn, of Ger- man descent, was a native of New Jersey, where the family has made its home for four genera- tions and where many of its representatives are still found. At an early day Henry Meryn moved to Ohio, and from there to northwestern Mis- souri, where, as a pioneer, he cleared a tract of timberland and transformed it into a good farm. There he made his home for thirty-three years, his death occurring when he was sixty-three. He was quite a prominent farmer and stock-raiser of that locality. He married Elizabeth Metler, a native of New York state, who also died in Mis- wouri. Seventeen children were born to them, ten of whom are still living, namely: Lucy, wife of Rolly Ramsey; Mary E., wife of Samuel Evans: Mrs. Lodema Smith; Harriet, wife of John Stultz; Jane, wife of George Pollock; Ellen, wife of our subject; Emma, wife of Elza Kirk: Rosetta, wife of Jacob Hornecker; and Robert and Lyman, both residents of Missouri.
R OBERT WILSON BLACK. The name of R. W. Black, who departed this life Jan- uary 9, 1899. will be associated with the carly annals of Guthrie for generations to come, as he was one of the foremost founders of the city's prosperity and assisted materially in plac- ing it upon the secure basis of law, order and good government.
A son of Jolin Black, a merchant and farmer, of an old Pennsylvania family, R. W. Black, one of five brothers and sisters, was born near
Beaver Falls, Pa., April 18, 1853. He spent his boyhood on a farm and received much of his education in the excellent schools of Philadel- phia. Later, he entered a railroad office and for a period acted as agent at various points in the western part of Pennsylvania.
About 1874 Mr. Black came to the west, and for eleven or twelve years he was the proprietor of a restaurant business in St. Joseph, Mo. At the time of Oklahoma's opening to the white race, he joined the throng of eager settlers, and, foreseeing the great future in store for Guthrie, decided to make his home here. He established a cold storage and bottling works at Vilas and Fifth streets, and took the agency for the An- heuser-Busch Brewing Company. By degrees he branched out, and increased his facilities for manufacturing all kinds of soda waters and effer- vescing drinks, finding a ready sale for these articles wherever introduced. He established agencies at numerous towns along the Santa Fe, including Newkirk, Ponca City, Perry, Black- well, Oklahoma City, Norman, Chandler, Shaw- nee and Stroud. The business which he so suc- cessfully founded and carried on is now man- aged by his widow, who is an excellent financier, and has proved herself to be eminently qualified to put into execution the plans which he inau- gurated. In 1898 the Black building was erected by the subject of this sketch, who also owned a half-interest in the Black-Anderson building and two quarter sections of land situated in this county.
The marriage of Mr. Black and Miss Mary S. Howard took place in Rushville, Mo., July 3. 1879. She is one of Rushville's native daugh- ters, and there, as here, took a leading and influential part in local society. Her father, William Howard, one of the honored Missouri pioneers, was actively connected with the well- known Joe Roubideaux, in the building of many of the first houses and stores in St. Joseph, Mo. After many years spent in this work, he retired. and thenceforth resided on a farm near Rush- ville. He was of English descent, and came from an old New England family, though his own birthplace was in Greencastle, Ind. Dur- . ing the Mexican war he served in a Missouri regiment under the command of General Price. and when the Civil war was in progress he was captain of a company of Missouri militia. From the time that he attained his majority until his death, when in his seventy-fifth year, he was as- sociated with the Masonic order, and thus was one of the oldest members of the order in the state. He was venerated and loved by all who knew him. His wife, who died in 1869, bore the maiden name of Mary Ann Brown. She was born near Greencastle, Ind., and was a daughter of William S. Brown, also of the Hoosier state,
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but of Irish descent. He was a pioneer of In- diana and of Buchanan county, Mo.
To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Black two children were born, namely: John and Myrtle. The son is the assistant manager of the large estate and business which his father left, and is proving himself well fitted for the onerous duties thus laid upon him. Mrs. Black is a member . of the Christian church, while her husband was a Presbyterian in belief.
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F. J. ROCHE. Grant township, Kingfisher county, is peopled, for the most part, with thoroughly enterprising, representative cit- izens, and one of the most progressive agricul- turists is the gentleman of whom this sketch is penned. He comes from a family of whom he has just reason to be proud, owing to the im- portant place taken by some of its members in by-gone days. The name, originally De la Roche, was placed in the lists of French nobility a few generations ago, and our subject's grand- father, Joseph Roche, with two brothers, Peter and Francis, were gallant soldiers in the army of Napoleon Bonaparte. Peter Roche was frozen while crossing the Alps with that great general.
John B., father of F. J. Roche, was a hero of the battle of Waterloo and many others of im- portance. He was born in 1798 in a portion of France which now is included within the bound- aries of Belgium. In 1837 he emigrated to the United States, going to New Orleans and thence up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to Louisville, Ky. Settling in the new county of Harrison, in Indiana, he energetically began the development of his land. and at length was the possessor of eight hundred acres of excellent farm property. At the ripe age of eighty-three years he passed to the silent land, loved and mourned by a large circle of sincere friends. In his journey to Amer- ica he was accompanied by his devoted wife, whose maiden name was Anne Catherine Strenchard .. and who, likewise, was a native of France. Of their nine children four are de- ceased, and the others comprise: Francis and John N., of Illinois; Emanuel, of Indiana: The- resa, widow of J. J. Goffinett, and F. J., of this article. The mother, who lived until 1898, was ninety years old at the time of her death.
F. J. Roche was born in Harrison county. Ind., in 1848, and grew to manhood in that local- ity, attending parochial schools, and completing his education in the University of Bloomington, Ind. At eighteen he located upon a part of his father's homestead, which he continued to culti- vate until 1872, when he went to Shelby county, Ill. He speaks French, German and English fluently, and is well posted upon a large variety
of subjects. For a period, while a resident of Windsor, Ill., he owned and carried on a drug business, in which he was successful also. From 1884 until April, 1889, he was numbered among the citizens of Rice county, Kans., but the su- perior natural advantages of Oklahoma led him to seek a home here as soon as possible.
Starting from the western boundary of this territory April 22d, Mr. Roche, mounted on an old mule, arrived at the site of his present home, now known as the Fairview stock farm, and filed his claim to the same on the Ist of the following May. On this place, situated in the northeastern corner of section 29, Grant township, he at once erected a small house, the first one put up on the main road between Guthrie and Kingfisher. One hundred and ten acres are now devoted to the raising of wheat and corn, for which the land seems specially adapted. Among the numerous improvements which the owner has made upon his farm are the orchard, well and reservoir, which add so much to the value of this model country-seat.
In 1881 Mr. Roche married Elizabeth Garvin, of Shelby county, Ill., daughter of Shem Gar- vin, who was born near Baltimore, Md., and ac- companied his parents to the prairie state in its pioneer days. He was noted as a hunter, and often went on long trips with the Indians in quest of game. For years he owned a flour mill at Windsor, Ill., which was the first one erected between St. Louis, Mo., and Terre Haute, Ind. The Garvins trace their line back to four broth- ers who came to this country from Scotland at an early day, one settling in Pennsylvania, two in Ohio, and the other in Maryland. On the maternal side. Mrs. Roche traces her ancestry back to the Wolfe family, from which General Wolfe, of London Lane fame, sprang. Mrs. Roche possesses considerable artistic talent, as a number of beautiful landscapes painted by her abundantly testify. Among them are views of Niagara Falls and one of the old "Skeleton Ranch," on Skeleton creek, and one of the spots where the old Chisholm trail crosses Cimarron river. Also of a literary turn of mind, she is a member of the Lithia Springs (Ill.) Chautauqua organization, makes a point of attending its ses- sions and has contributed papers on different subjects several years at these convocations.
In his political convictions Mr. Roche has been a "Greenbacker" for a number of years. While a resident of Indiana he served for one term as deputy county treasurer, and also was deputy sheriff for one term. In Illinois he was clerk of Richland township for two years, and was a member of the city council of Windsor for a period. Fraternally he is an Odd Fellow. and retains his membership in Sterling Lodge No. 131, of Rice county, Kans.
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J OHN S. SNODGRASS. Though not far from the age of three-score at the time of his settlement in this territory, John S. Snodgrass possessed the energy and executive ability of one many years his junior, and what he has accomplished during his residence in Grant township would do credit to any man. He is public spirited and takes the interest of the true patriot in everything pertaining to the progress of his home community, and the coun- try in general.
The paternal grandfather of our subject, Fran- eis Snodgrass, was born in West Virginia and spent his entire life in that state. His ancestors were pioneers of Virginia, and originally the family lived in Ireland. Some of them took part in the early wars with the Indians, and theirs was the spirit which surmounts all dangers and obstacles. Lemuel, father of John S. Snodgrass, was born in Monongahela county, W. Va., in 1800, and passed about forty-five years of his life in his native state. He then removed to Wash- ington county, Ohio, where, as formerly, he en- gaged in the tilling of the soil. Subsequently he went to Waubansee county, Kans., and spent his last years in the homes of his sons, dying when in his eighty-sixth year. His wife, Jane (Stephens) Snodgrass, was born in Greene county, Pa., and attained the age of eighty-seven years, dying in Morris county, Kans. Her pa- rents were early settlers în Indiana, and passed their last years in Virginia.
John S. Snodgrass was born in 1834, and is one of thirteen children, some of whom live in Ohio and others in Virginia. His birthplace is in Monongahela county, W. Va., and his educa- tion was obtained mamly in the pioneer schools of Ohio. Desiring to see something of this country ere he decided upon a permanent home, he traveled to some extent in Virginia and the central states and then went to Kansas, living at different points and experiencing the uneasiness of the political factions and border troubles of that period. In 1865 he located in Brown county. Kans., buying a quarter section of land situated about twenty miles to the northwest of Atchison. For twenty-six years he cultivated that farm, reared his children and performed all of the du- ties devolving upon him as a citizen and neigh- bor.
In May, 1891, Mr. Snodgrass came to Okla- homa, bringing with him six horses. Here he bought a quarter section of section 3. Grant township,-practically a wild tract of land. In the course of time he placed one hundred and twenty acres under the plow, planted a good or- chard and vineyard, and erected substantial farm buildings. Later he invested some of the fruits of his toil in more land, and now owns five hun- dred and sixty acres, three hundred of which are
usually sown to wheat. He also keeps a good grade of horses and cattle, and is making a suc- cess of every department of farming.
In 1859 Mr. Snodgrass married Sarah J. Cooper, of Ohio. Two of their children are de- ceased, namely: Lucretia and John H., the son having attained the age of twenty-three. Hiram C. is engaged in the mining of coal in Missouri, and George L. is a farmer of Kingfisher county. Rose is the wife of S. A. Tunneson, of Enid, Okla .; Mrs. Susan J. Turnbull and Mrs. Sarah Davey live in Kansas, and the younger daugh- ters, Minnie and Rachel, are yet at home.
Turning backward a few chapters in the his- tory of Mr. Snodgrass, we come to the part which he played during the terrible years of the Civil war. Among the first to enlist in the de- fense of the Union, he served throughout the conflict, always at his post of duty, and confi- dently relied upon, for he won the regard of all of his superior officers. At the time of his enlist- ment he was made sergeant of Company F, Sixty-third Ohio Infantry, and later acted in the capacity of orderly sergeant. He took part in many of the most important campaigns of the war, and, after accompanying Sherman on his noted march to the sea, went to Washington and participated in the grand review. He was mus- tered out of the service at Louisville, Ky., July 8, 1865. Politically, he is a Democrat, and for seven years has been a member of the board of directors of schools in district No. 72, Grant township.
G UY W. TAYLOR, M. D., a gentleman of wide experience in the practice of medi- cine, is one of the most successful prac- titioners of El Reno. Born in Nacogdoches, Tex., August 14, 1860, he is a son of Dr. D. T. and Mary (Fall) Taylor. His grandfather, James, was born in Georgia and was a planter of that state. He moved with his family to Jackson- ville, Tex., where he engaged in the hotel busi- ness, in addition to farming, until his death. He was of New England stock, and came from the same family as Dr. Isaac E. Taylor. Dr. D. T. Taylor was born in Georgia, and at an early age took up the medical profession. He received the degree of Doctor of Medicine from a medical college in New Orleans, and studied under Drs. Flint and Stone. Beginning to prac- tice in Chireno, Tex., he later located at Nacog- doches, Tex .. and removed to Hot Springs, Ark .. in 1881, where he has been engaged in practice ever since. He married Mary Fall, who was born in Georgia, and was one of the first grad- uates in classics and music at Montgomery Col- lege, of LaGrange, Ga. Her father, Dr. John N. Fall, was a very brilliant man and was promi-
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nent in the upbuilding of the state of Texas. He was born in Georgia and was a very carly settler in Texas, locating at Chireno, Nacogdoches county, where he was a prominent physician. He was associated with such men as Samuel Houston, Rusk and Ochiltree, and served in the state senate. Seven children, six sons and one daughter, were born to this union, our subject being the oldest and the only one who has lo- cated in Oklahoma Territory.
Dr. Guy W. Taylor received his intellectual training in the public and high schools of his native county, and in Kosse Academy, of Kosse, Limestone county, Tex. In 1881 he went to Hot Springs with his father, under whom he there took up the study of medicine. He entered the Missouri Medical College and finished his course in the Memphis Hospital Medical College at Memphis, Tenn., graduating in 1887, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Since then he has taken other hospital courses and by constant study has kept abreast of the times .. In 1887 he began practicing at Hot Springs, Ark., and continued there for four years, when he went to his old home at Chireno, Tex., to settle some business. Five years later he returned to his practice at Hot Springs, and there remained until the fall of 1897, when he located at El Reno. He devotes all his time to his profession and has a large general practice in medicine and surgery. He has made many friends since he has been located here, and stands high in the esteem of all with whom he is acquainted.
Dr. Taylor was united in marriage at Beck- ville, Tex., to Beulalı Kirkley, who was born in St. Augustine, Tex., and they have one son, Guy Horace. Fraternally, he is a member of the Ma- sonic Order, and belongs to the Oklahoma Ter- ritory Medical Association. Religiously, he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. In politics he supports the Democratic party.
W. O. ARMANTROUT. To the somewhat aggressive spirit of commercialism nice- essarily keen in all newly developed sec- tions of the country, is added here and there a touch of the refining and elevating, by the occu- pations introduced along artistic lines. In these days of materialistic tendency, a practical art is more readily appreciated than the art of the aim- less dreamer, and no one familiar with its prog- ress during the last dozen years doubts that pho- tography may be made a combination of the practical. the ideal, and the artistic. To the con- sideration of the various phases of his work Mr. Armantront brings a continually increasing knowledge, and keeps in touch with the progress
in other parts of the world, as well as in his own painstaking country. In the matter of posing. artistic effect, and the manipulation of lights and shadows-the chairo-scuro of Rembrandt-he is perhaps without an equal for many miles around. His studio is one of the finest in the county-one might almost say in the territory-and he com- mands the appreciation and patronage of all true lovers of conscientiously rendered work.
Of German descent, Mr. Armantrout was born in Wabash county, Ind., in 1870, and is a son of Henry and Margaret (Wiles) Armantrout, na- tives of Indiana. Henry Armantrout was a farmer in Wabash county during the earlier years of his activity, and during the Civil war served in an Indiana regiment. In 1878 he removed to Kent county, Mich., and engaged in the lumber business for seven years, going later to White county, Ind., where he is living at the present time. Margaret Armantrout was a daughter of Frederick Wiles, a native of Pennsylvania, and of German descent, who settled in Indiana about 1843, conducting a farm in Miami county. Mrs. Armantrout died in Indiana, in 1884. During the last century, the paternal great-grandfather came from Germany to America with his brother, the former settling in Pennsylvania and the latter in Virginia. On his father's farm in Pennsylvania was born the grandfather of W. O., who was named Jeremiah, and who settled in Miami county, Ind., and after serving in the Civil war. changed his location to Cheboygan county, Mich. Upon a homestead claim he en- gaged in general farming for the remainder of his useful life, and died in 1894, at the age of four-score years. .
W. O. Armantrout was one of five children. of whom four are living: Michael is a photographer in Guthrie, Okla .: W. O. follows the same occu- pation in Hennessey, the two studios being oper- ated under the name of AArmantrout Bros .: Nei- lie is the wife of Mr. VanDusen, of Wabash county, Ind .; and Ada also lives in Wabash county. After sixteen years of life on the home farní in Indiana and Michigan, during which time he studied diligently at the public schools and availed himself of opportunities at hand. W. O. Armantrout' went, in 1886, to Indiana. where he attained independence by working on the farms of the surrounding agriculturists. 1 change of occupation was begun in 1889, by ac- cepting a clerkship in Kingman, Kans., and con- tinuing the same in Anthony, Kans., in 1800. While in the latter place he began to study pho- tography under the able instruction of his brother, with whom he worked until 1862. when he started in business for himself in Kiowa. Kans. After two years he opened a studio in Joplin. Mo., going thence to Caldwell, Kans., and in 1898 opened the place of business in Hennessey
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